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Robert's Best of Blu-ray 2009 Top Ten
1 January 2010 9:13 AM, PST
2009 has come and gone bringing with it a slew of new Blu-ray titles as the high-def format continues to pick up steam and drop in price. Which ones are worth your hard earned dollars whether as a new release, a double-dip of a DVD classic or a title to entice you to finally make the jump to high-def media? While by no means definitive (no "best of" list ever is), here are some of my personal favorite choices from the past year well worth your consideration heading into 2010.
Akira
The hyper-kinetic tale about mutant psychic powers that brought Anime to light outside of Japan makes its Bd debut. Sure, there are minimal extras (so the potential for an "ultimate edition" double-dip does exist) but that's due to Bandai Entertainment dedicating space for the feature film. Not only do they give us a pristine 1080p picture, but equally impressive they actualize »
Shawn's Best of Blu-ray 2009 Top Ten
1 January 2010 9:13 AM, PST
While 2009's theatrical releases proved to be the weakest rolled out from Hollywood since the beginning of the decade, the dizzying array of Blu-ray releases were anything but. With the Criterion Company increasing their output and the studios giving some of their most popular recent films the HD red carpet treatment, it did not take much persuasion for some to stay out of the theater and at home to get their cinematic dollar's worth. For myself, ten prime examples of this are as follows.
Wings of Desire: Criterion Collection
I have owned Wim Wenders' fantasy drama in many a format (VHS, Laserdisc, DVD) over the past twenty years, yet none have come close to capturing the true beauty of this German masterpiece the way Criterion has. With a knockout transfer and a great selection of supplemental materials (next up: Paris, Texas) to back it up, one can only »
Amazon Selling True Blood: Season One on Blu-ray for Under $25
1 January 2010 7:43 AM, PST
Online retailer Amazon.com is kicking off the New Year in style with inviting pricing on one of HBO's marquee shows.
For an unknown duration of time, Amazon is selling the first season of True Blood starring Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer on five Blu-ray Discs for $24.99. That's a whopping 72% off the list price and less than some single disc titles are selling for.
Likewise, the DVD edition of True Blood: Season One is selling for $16.99.
With the second season of True Blood expected on home video this spring, this is a great opportunity for newcomers to get caught up or for faithful fans to get a refresher.
Click here to order True Blood: Season One on Blu-ray for $24.99 at Amazon.com.
Click here to order True Blood: Season One on DVD for $16.99 at Amazon.com. »
Dragon Age: Origins Dlc Coming in January
29 December 2009 10:31 AM, PST
EA and BioWare have announced the Dlc Pack "Return to Ostagar" for Dragon Age: Origins will become available for purchase and download on Xbox 360 and the the PC beginning on January 5 in North America and Europe. The cost will run 400 Microsoft Points.
The same pack will become available to PS3 owners later in January at a cost of $4.99.
In Return to Ostagar, players will embark on a quest to acquire the mighty arms and armor of the once great King Cailan. To do so, they will return to Ostagar and exact revenge while learning the secrets of Ferelden's fallen king and his top secret agenda. »
District 9 Blu-ray Review
29 December 2009 10:23 AM, PST
Aliens do not always have to arrive at Earth with the sole intention of conquering and enslaving mankind. Steven Spielberg's Et: The Extraterrestrial taught us this by presenting aliens in need of our help to survive, forging a sympathetic rather than apathetic response to their surprise presence on our world.
Another memorable departure from traditional alien invasion films that makes for an incredible Blu-ray Disc experience is South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp's District 9. One step into its world reveals a beautifully disgusting refuge wasteland where over a million 7-foot tall aliens, derogatorily nicknamed "Prawns" for resembling walking grasshoppers with wiggly worm mustaches, have become a burden on human resources. Without leadership or the means to move their massive spaceship away from hovering above Johannesburg they live in squalor, illegally interact with humans and resort to crime to obtain the necessities in life such as cat food. Why »
Second Inception Trailer with HD Links
29 December 2009 9:57 AM, PST
Warner Bros. has dropped a second teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan's Inception and, like the first, tells us very little other than to expect the unexpected.
The film's official tagline is "a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind" and the trailer confirms that a crime has been committed within someone's mind, most likely Leonardo Dicarpio's CEO-type character. But is he asleep or awake during this trailer? Or both?
There's a great shot of a city literally folding over on itself as Ellen Page and DiCaprio look on. This must be in his mind, or their mind ala The Matrix. Either way, Nolan likely has some great twists up his sleeve.
Inception also stars Ken Watanabe as the "bad guy," Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Batman Begins' Cillian Murphy. Look for it in theaters on July 16.
Visit Apple.com to view the Inception trailer in high definition. »
The Coen Brothers' A Serious Man Blu-ray Scoop
29 December 2009 8:09 AM, PST
Joel and Ethan Coen's latest cinematic effort, A Serious Man, has been tapped for a simultaneous DVD and Blu-ray Disc debut on February 9 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
The dark Jewish comedy stars Michael Stuhlbarg as a professor whose life is spiraling out of control, prompting him to visit and seek advice from three different rabbis to correct his course.
Universal will present a Serious Man on Blu-ray in 1.85:1 1080p video and 5.1 DTS-hd Master Audio.
A trio of bonus features are confirmed for the disc though the number could increase as any Blu-ray exclusives have yet to be identified. The known extras are Becoming Serious, Creating 1967, and Hebrew and Yiddish for Goys.
A Serious Man on Blu-ray will carry an Srp of $36.98. I will pass along Amazon.com pre-order pricing and high-res cover art when available. »
Blu-ray Giveaway: Cheaper by the Dozen 2
29 December 2009 6:44 AM, PST
Eugene Levy and Steve Martin square off in Cheaper by the Dozen 2, the latest catalog film from Fox Home Entertainment to make its way to Blu-ray Disc on January 5.
We have five sets of Cheaper by the Dozen 2 on Blu-ray, one each to be awarded to the five winners of this contest. For a chance to win, fill out and send in the completed entry form below. You can optionally return any or every day thereafter to enter again for as long as the contest is open.
Steve Martin is funnier than ever in this hilarious sequel! Tom Baker (Steve Martin) and wife Kate (Bonnie Hunt) bring their clan together for a memorable summer getaway. But their dream vacation turns into an outrageous competition with the overachieving, overzealous family of Tom's long-time rival, Jimmy Murtaugh (Eugene Levy).
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Final Weekend Box Office Numbers Lead to Prophet Game Winner
28 December 2009 9:18 PM, PST
The final Christmas weekend box office numbers are in and Avatar picked up an additional $600k to bring its weekend haul to $75.6 million. Unfortunately, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel lost $1.2 million and dropped below $50 million thus squashing the incredible "three films above $50 million" mark estimates had predicted.
In our weekly Weekend Box Office Prophet game a winner has finally emerged after three consecutive rounds of the Prophet beating the average scores of all players. The Prophet played miserably for his worst performance yet, proof that rushing your picks without thinking them through can be the difference between a bottom and a top 10 finish (view final numbers).
The round goes to WeirdArchives who missed Avatar, Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, Sherlock Holmes, It's Complicated and Up in the Air by a combined $30.4 million or $10 million less than the second-place finisher (see the results). A well deserved win that will net them »
Marvel's Captain America to Film in June
28 December 2009 7:24 AM, PST
As The Wolfman is being readied for its February 12 release, director Joe Johnston is already working on his next project, The First Avenger: Captain America.
Little is known about the Marvel Studios project other than Johnston is on board to direct and a July 22, 2011 release date has been chosen. Thanks to Fangoria, the time line is starting to come into focus.
Fangoria has revealed that a recently conducted interview with Johnston for The Wolfman was conducted from the art department of Captain America. Furthermore, they revealed Johnston is working hard towards a June 2010 shooting start.
At this time no cast members have been announced but we could possibly see the first names come to light within the next few months. »
New Weekend Box Office Record Led by Avatar
27 December 2009 8:34 PM, PST
It was a Christmas to remember for movie studios as the all-time weekend box office record fell behind the might of James Cameron's Avatar, Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes and the encore performance of those high-pitched Chipmunks based on early estimates.
Avatar led the way for its second straight weekend win with a cool $75 million from Friday through Sunday, a mere 3% drop from its opening weekend and a domestic tally of $280 million and counting. Factor in overseas business and Avatar is already at $617.3 million with $800 million to $1 billion not out of the question.
Another Fox entry, Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel, beat the original's bow of $44 million by opening to $50.2 million and third place. A third film in the franchise is expected to be announced barring a catastrophic collapse heading into New Years.
Warner Bros. was hoping Sherlock Holmes could dethrone Avatar but will gladly take the $65.4 million opening and second place, »
See Kevin Smith's Cop Out Trailer
27 December 2009 8:14 PM, PST
From A Couple of Dicks to the finalized name of appropriately titled Cop Out, Kevin Smith's latest has made its first footage debut and hardly resembles a Kevin Smith film at all.
Keeping in mind Smith did not write Cop Out, the buddy cop film chasing a rare stolen baseball card looks like a cross between comedy and drama with Tracy Morgan running his mouth while Bruce Willis chimes in with well-timed one liners. The trailer gives the best moments to Seann William Scott but I suspect, and hope, the money jokes weren't suitable for wide release. Otherwise based on this footage, Cop Out might end up a crap out.
Look for Cop Out in theaters on February 26.
View the Cop Out trailer in high definition at Apple.com. »
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